THE HEART SUTRA

O, Saripurtra, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form; form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form, the same is true of feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness.

O, Saripurtra, all dharmas are forms of emptiness, not born, not destroyed; not tainted, not pure, not increasing, not decreasing, and so in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no mental formations, no consciousness; no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no color, no sound, so smell, no taste, no touch, no thought, no realm of sight and so forth until no realm of consciousness, no ignorance, no end to ignorance and so forth until no old age and death, and no end to old age and death, no suffering, no desire, no cessation, no path, no wisdom, no attainment.

And so the Bodhisattva relies on the Prajnaparamita with no hindrance in the mind, no hindrance, therefore no fear, far beyond deluded thoughts, this is Nirvana.

All past, present, and future Buddhas rely on the refinement of wisdom and thus attain the cultivated enlightenment.

Therefore, know that the Prajnaparamita is the interdependent mantra, the interconnected mantra, the mantra of world making the mantra which relieves all suffering.

The Teachers

Prayer flags over the nature meditation retreat in Missouri. They have hung over campsites from Colorado to Florida.

Venerable Holmes Welch

Running water indicates monks in residence at temple

Xi-Ken Shi in Qigong Practice

Xi-Ken Sensei teaching at NY Sangha

THE IDEAL MEETS THE REAL

COMPASSION:

For a Buddhist compassion is non-negotiable. Compassion is for the being; it is not an acceptance of any action. Compassion is a 24/7/365 practice that is dependent on HOW one is, not WHAT one does.
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SITUATIONAL DHARANI:

I practice the serenity to accept things that happen, the courage to make positive changes, and the wisdom to view experiences through a positive lens. Living moment-to-moment; seeing the possibilities; accepting that hardship can better be seen as an opportunity to learn; taking, as Siddhartha did, this impermanent world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting in my ability to make the best possible intentional choices in each situation; so that I can promote the alleviation of suffering and discontent for all sentient beings. Sva ha!

The words: practice, accept, courage, changes, wisdom, view, positive, moment-to-moment, possibilities, opportunity, learn, impermanent world, trusting, ability, intentional, choice, promote, and alleviation are all needed to alter worldview from one trapped by RULES, to one free to make positive choices by combining the intent of the RULES with the reality of each situation.
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GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT

A bodhisattva-in-training practices generosity of spirit offering their skills, material goods and time to whomever needs them, whenever the need arises. This ideal is at the core of how a bodhisattva-in-training thinks and acts. The practice of generosity hastens the arising of other positive dispositions such as selflessness, humility, loving-kindness and wisdom. The first three are logical results of such a practice . . . but . . . wisdom?

Wisdom arises gradually as a practitioner learns through experience how their actions impact others, and themselves.

There are traditional parables and tales that reveal the lengths a bodhisattva-in-training is expected to go to in the practice of generosity. There is a Jataka Tale in which Siddhartha was a rabbit in a previous life. He was said to be a wise and learned rabbit whose friends looked to him for teaching and advice. The rabbit realized that on a Holy Day when all are expected to give freely to strangers that all he had to contribute was grass. Feeling that grass wasn't sufficient to offer a guest he threw himself into the fire, offering his own body as food. This is viewed as the ultimate traditional ideal of generosity.

Giving your life, not so another can live, but so another can enjoy a meal seems contradictory to a practice of the Middle Path.

Still, there are those who place the ideal above the real. They consistently do for others while ignoring what they need to do for themselves. The reality is that anyone, Buddhist practitioner or other belief, who doesn't take care of their needs . . . NOT wants . . . before looking to the needs of others hasn't realized an appropriate view of generosity of spirit. A bodhisattva-in-training must take care so that when generosity of spirit is practiced it isn't to the detriment of themselves and their family.

Ideally one doesn't throw themselves into the fire. One looks for more realistic options to practice generosity of spirit.

Wisdom arises gradually as a practitioner learns through experience how their actions impact others, and themselves.
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IGNORANCE

The reality of ignorance is revealed in the suffering, discontent and anguish that arise from it. Ignorance can be recognized in three forms.

Not Knowing can come from lack of opportunity to learn, or lack of desire to learn.

Deluded Knowing is what one thinks they know, knowledge that is based on a misunderstanding of reality.

False Knowing appears when 'facts' are made up or facts are manipulated in order to get a particular result.

The ideal that defeats ignorance is found in one of the ten precept vows taken in Pragmatic Buddhism, and that is a critical part of Engaged Dharma monastic and lay practice. It is the vow taken to engage in life-long learning. Learning is what transforms the emptiness of ignorance into the form of knowledge, knowledge that then transforms into wisdom through further practice.

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REALITY

It becomes improbable after years of studying and practicing Buddhism that dharma lessons won't seem to arise in the strangest ways.

For example, the mindfulness and awareness that develops transforms the very act of reading. Whether it is a non-fiction book that is meant to be about reality . . . or at least the reality that the author experiences, or it is a work of fiction that is the author's reality created whole-cloth from their own bodymind, there are lessons to be found. Today I finished reading Lev Grossman's excellent book, 'The Magicians' (described by some as Harry Potter with sex, drugs and mental instabilities) and in its pages were these words, " . . . reality is tough, unyielding stuff, and it doesn't care what you think, or feel or say about it."

Can't argue with that.

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SPEECH

There is a line in the book, 'The Moor's Account: A Novel' by Laila Lalami, that reveals the ideal of appropriate speech meeting the reality of a man's commitment not only to his Islamic faith, but to an ideal of how people of any faith should speak. The character, Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori, a slave to a Spanish nobleman listens to the speech of a priest and comes to the realization that the man “ . . . gave speeches not to voice the truth, but to create it”.

In this contemporary culture and time this application of speech is common all across the spectrum of human beings. We must be mindful of our own propensity to engage in this, and be aware that it is commonly used to convince others of the value of a product or the righteousness of a religion or cause.

There is a saying, “The truth hurts.” This is so in some instances, but in some it just hurts the speaker's ego to speak the truth. The same is true for listening, an equally important aspect of appropriate speech, when one listens only for what they want to hear ignoring the truth of what is really being said. Whether one speaks to create truth, or listens to create truth it results in the dangers of delusion.